Kuwait paper appeals over swimsuit photo

KUWAIT, Jan 29 (Reuters) A Kuwaiti newspaper plans to appeal against a three-day ban imposed by a court for publishing an ''indecent'' photo of one of Saddam Hussein's granddaughters in a swimsuit, a sister publication reported today.

Kuwait's edition of the Lebanese Daily Star said al-Watan, one of the country's largest Arabic dailies, will challenge the ban and 3,000 dinar fine imposed on its publisher for the July 3, 2006 photo.

Saturday's court ruling came after a Kuwaiti citizen filed a suit accusing the newspaper of publishing indecent photos of the young woman who is the daughter of Raghad Hussein.

The picture showed the young woman in a swimsuit with a Lebanese male celebrity in the Qatari capital Doha.

Al-Watan had argued it had concealed parts of the body that may be deemed as violating modesty laws in the conservative Gulf Arab state.

The former Iraqi president, who was executed in Iraq last month for crimes against humanity, is a hate figure in Kuwait, which he invaded in 1990. Iraqi forces were later driven out of the Gulf Arab state by a US-led coalition in February. 1991.

REUTERS BDP PM1809